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Nail trimming

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Bubble64

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi. I have 4 board that are in 2 pairs. One of my boars Jamie has black nails and is 4. I have onky recently learned about needing to cut their nails. I have always been too scared to trim his due to cutting the quick. My other piggie Sparky has white nails that are pretty long and you can clearly see the quick. We took them to the vets once to get their nails trimmed properly but she didn't take anything off Sparkys even thiugh they seem long and the quick seems quite far back. Also she didn't take amyrhing off Jamie's. Jamie's don't seem too long so do I still need to cut them? My other 2 board have white nails too but they dont seem long.
So a) should I cut them if they don't seem long?
b) How do I keep them still when cutting their nails?
c) How do I make sure to not cut the quick when cutting black nails?
Thanks for any help
 
One of my boys has one foot with black nails. I just trim a little off on a regular basis - maybe every couple of weeks - rather than wait till they’re too long. These nails are probably fractionally longer than the others. I know some suggest shining a torch under the nail but I have never mastered the art of torch, wriggly pig and scissors. I sometimes wrap them up in a blanket to stop the wriggling but found the least stressful way is having another pair of hands/person and a supply of coriander. That said one of my boys is sulking because I just cut a little too much today - and it was a white nail 😢
 
I have several black nails between all my piggies. I also find little and often easiest so I don’t risk cutting too much in one go.

I do mine by myself but it is definitely easier if you have someone to hold piggy!
 
Hi

In older piggies you can often see where the dead nail starts - a live nail is always smooth and straight where as the dead horn can have grooves and start to twist. Cut a millimetre away from were the signs of deformation start, and you will miss the quick.

It doesn't work for all black nails but it can help you judge how far back you can take a nail.
 
Thank you for all your suggestions. Definitely seems like an extra person could help! Of the quick was accidentally cut what should you do? Am I right to think you put it in this thing and wait until the bleeding stops?
 
Bubble64 said:
Thank you for all your suggestions. Definitely seems like an extra person could help! Of the quick was accidentally cut what should you do? Am I right to think you put it in this thing and wait until the bleeding stops?You can buy a special powder styptic powder to stop the bleeding.
Click to expand...
 
Bubble64 said:
Thank you for all your suggestions. Definitely seems like an extra person could help! Of the quick was accidentally cut what should you do? Am I right to think you put it in this thing and wait until the bleeding stops?
Click to expand...
You can buy styptic powder but cornflour works too - dip the nail/foot into a little pile.
 
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